Educating the Net Generation: How to Engage Students in the 21st

Century addresses the national problem of escalating high-school dropout

rates and student disengagement, and offers solutions as to how to best
involve students of the millennial generation. The book examines the unique
characteristics of the Net Generation and explains how the educational
expectations and needs of the Net Generation differ from their Gen-X parents
and Baby Boomer grandparents. It also looks at why many students resist
engaging in formalized education in schools and ultimately drop out.

Chapters featuring student interviews and photographs synthesize the

perspectives of current high school students regarding their

experiences, beliefs, and thoughts on learning, while a parallel set of

parent interviews reveals what parents feel is important in their child’s

education and how they would like to see schools engage their

children in learning.

Recommendations for changes in school policy and the financial

investment critical to turning the situation around are also included,

along with an inventory/ checklist for parents, teachers, and school

administrators to determine if their individual school environment has

what it takes to keep students motivated and engaged.

At the core of Bob Pletka’s book is the claim that the millennial generation needs
drastically different pedagogical methods than the high school students of previous
eras. Pletka, a teacher and superintendent in California, makes a credible argument
for changes in both school policy and teaching methods to better serve today’s high
school students. He urges parents and teachers to avoid doing the same old things if
they hope to engage and motivate young adults.

In the book, interviews with and photographs of students provide a sharp contrast to
the quotes by parents and teachers. Based on what is said, the author develops a
number of suggestions aimed at making school work more meaningful for students.

Not only does he provide a forum for these voices and offer valuable strategies for
addressing the problems of student dropout and disengagement, he includes
inventories for parents and educators and lists education references and web sites
for further investigation.

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Chapter 1

THE EMERGING NET GENERATION

A baby boomer commented that she found it disturbing when she saw members of the Net Generation
talking on the cell phone instead of talking to the person next to them.- the conclusion is that the Net
Gen would rather communicate and interact using technology in the virtual world than interact face to
face in the real world.

- I found the audience’s conclusion more insightful of our own generation’s underlying
perceptions of the world than about the underlying perceptions of the Net GEN- the perception
is the the world is divided into the real and the virtual ( as a playful diversion from the real
world)- this line no longer separated the world any longer (ex. relationship started online that
led to marriages, money made online, political campaigns made online, powerful computers and
satellites are used to hunt down terrorists etc).
- Digital communication does not replace face-to-face interaction, but it does create new
opportunities, removes time and geographical barriers, and enable new global connections.

Conclusion: the speaker’s conclusion, which suggested that the Net Gen would rather text message with
a friend than talk with them face-to-face, is based ON NO RESEARCH but on the PERCEPTION from older
generation about a new rising one. It is about having limitless possibilities with whom they can choose to
communicate. For this generation, the world is all about choices- when, how, why, and what they want
to communicate- and neither time nor place can stop them.

Picture- I feel like people never wanted to talk to each other anyways. Technology has just make it easier
to avoid social interaction.

1. Who is the Net Generation?

A generation shaped by a new, networked, visually rich, digitally constructed communication and
information world-> the Net Gen is most comfortable multitasking in fast-paced, visually oriented
environments. In applied learning situation, they are adept at discovering information where it can be
accessed randomly in associative contexts rather than in step-by-step linear ways.- when they do need,
assistance, they expect short video clips, graphics, or collaborative contexts in which they can simply ask
quick questions and get short answers to guide them through online quagmires.

2. Tabula rasa- nurtured by their environment

“ kids are kids. What was good for previous generations will be good for future generations. If it was
good enough for me then it is good enough for them.”- author’s grandfather

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Agree: when referring to love, character, dedication, and the value of commitment.

Disagree: different values (ex diversity), needs (visual learners), expectations (self-paced, customized),
skills (information literacy, digital competencies). Net Geners have been nurtured by the development of
this new digital world to make them who they are.

The empiricist philosophers Locke, Bacon, Hume and the modern psychologist John Watson- a person, a
community of people, a generation of people acquire knowledge and behaviors through the experience
of the senses and as a reflection of those experiences. THEIR BEHAVIOURS ARE THE RESULT OF
INTERACTION AND CONDITIONING FROM THE ENVIRONMENT THAT ULTIMATELY SHAPES WHO THEY
BECOME.

What shaped this generation:

 Information

-is abundant, immediate, interactive, and always available.

-it is presented using a variety of visual, graphical, and auditory styles that provide a multitude of
ways for sharing knowledge

-individuals are now empowered to compete, argue, and spread knowledge ( no longer do large
oligarchies of media, publishers, governments, or local agencies control the information). Youtube,
Google- anyone can upload. Photos

 Communication
- Smart-phones, Gmail/Yahoo Mail, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp etc. photos
- The cell phone has become almost another appendage and is used as naturally as their hands,
without even thinking.
- This generation has integrated ICT into their lives; it has shaped how they behave, socialize,
work, think, and develop.
 Commerce
- 40% of all Net Geners made purchases online last year with their large discretionary income.
with this type of spending power, they are active and important members of the economy.
- Because this group has both the societal freedom to make choices and the financial power to
support those decisions, companies cater to thin generation. (industries such as travel have now
special packages, orange/Vodafone, kfc/mcdonalds)
- They communicate their preferences online, and financially impact the companies in the
marketplace=> most corporations ultimately respond to their needs, interests, and tastes.
- Unlike past generations, when children simply received what parents thought was best for them,
Net geners youths now get to decide what products and services they want.

3. Experiential and Exploratory

When Net Geners do make choices, they usually select experiential and exploratory activities
because this generation likes to learn by doing and interacting.

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 - This group spends more time online than watching television. They are not satisfied sitting idly
while watching mass media. They prefer shows like American Idol, which allow them to interact
and use messaging technologies that help determine the outcome. ( romanii au talent, xfactor-
you can vote online)
- For the younger Net Geners, stations like Nickelodeon invite children to visit their website and
create their own animation scene with interactive creature and props from the television
station’s cartoons, such as Avatar. This generation doesn’t want to simply watch others, they
want to participate.
4. Multitasking
- The research does show that the Net Generation will almost always be doing some other online
activity while they are instant messaging. – this ability to multitask with media transfers into
productivity in the workplace--- less likely to be distracted by noise, more capable of working in a
variety of contexts, and more likely to work while traveling than other generational workers.

Chapter 3

Student Voices

The author realized a study, where he examined the way in which students engage in learning in middle
and high school. From the data, 3 themes emerged:

1. Students decide whether to engage in learning bases on its perceived value

Perceived values are based on:
-utilitarian importance to the student’s future: “a student who’s main concern is getting into a
good college, wants to do well in school”
This disconnect between what they were learning in the classroom and its possible impact on
their future education and profession points to why some students fail to engage in learning.
-significance or relevance to their current life
Many students asserted that the material taught in class needed to have a recognizable purpose
and a connection to their life.
“Class discussions and projects interest me in learning. I am especially motivated when a teacher
tries to explain how the material relates to us”
Those students who identify the pointlessness of school activities are likely to be the students
who disengage from school and are at higher risk of dropping out.
-interest value
“Depending on what the subject is, I like that I’m good at it. For example, I’m really good with
algebra, so I like that in class.”
The value of a learning activity increased if they were able to do something that others were
unable to do.
Self-efficacy (the perception that one is effective in an area) leads to high student engagement
and, ultimately, achievement in an area.

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If students felt that the benefits of a learning activity were greater than the drawbacks, students decide
to engage.

Richard Clark’s model of motivation:

- Utility ( an activity beneficial to the person)

- Interest (an activity that has intrinsic appeal to the person)
- Importance (an activity that increases the level of competence in the person)

2. Personalized learning supports students

- Use of oral storytelling
- Encouragement of student interaction and involvement (ss felt supported when they were able
to ask groups members for help; immediate feedback and assistance; collaborative groups that
included more capable peers helped many students to understand concepts that individually
they were unable to comprehend- Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development- ss’s understanding
can be extended through the assistance of more advanced ss.)
- One-on-one support
- Laughter- the students would focus more intently on the material being presented

These helped the students because they were able to understand the content and then when they
applied it within the context of their own life experiences, they expressed a willingness to engage in
the learning.

- Multimedia technologies and visuals- helped provide concrete example to abstract concepts
(PPT), listening to music for auditory learning ( pg 75)

3. Students perceive identifiable barriers to their learning

Barriers: instructional, personal, and social to classroom learning.
Others: they already knew the material and the slow pace of the instruction, personal limitations
or feelings of alientation.

When failed to understand the material:

Boys- anger “When the student cannot figure something out, fury rise up in them and the first
thing that comes out is ‘I hate school!’ “
Girls- confusion, frustration “she’s not sure what to do but she is willing to learn.”